Johnny Smith: Alcohol poisoning is suspected.

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Freshman from Tucson found dead at Wabash College frat

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A Wabash College freshman from Tucson was found dead over the weekend in a fraternity house, and Indiana authorities said that alcohol may have been involved.

Johnny D. Smith, 18, was found unconscious Sunday morning at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house in Crawfordsville, Ind., and members called for an ambulance, said Jim Russell, the fraternity's national executive vice president.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, and Crawfordsville Police Chief Kurt Knecht said Monday that investigators suspected alcohol was involved in the death, but they were waiting for autopsy results and toxicology tests.

Smith's mother, Stacy Smith, told The Indianapolis Star that her son was found face-down in a pool of vomit.

An autopsy was scheduled later this week for Smith, and toxicology tests could take about a month to complete, Montgomery County Coroner Darren Forman said.

Russell said Smith lived at the Delta Tau Delta house and had pledged to the fraternity but had not yet been initiated. Russell would not say whether there was a party at the fraternity the night before Smith's death.

Wabash College, where more than 50 percent of students are involved in fraternities, owns the Delta Tau Delta house and several other fraternity houses. Officials said they would investigate and could take action against the fraternity. Alcohol is allowed in the fraternity houses, but only for students who are 21 or older.

Wabash President Patrick E. White and other school officials, including the counseling director, spent time with students at the all-male college. The liberal-arts school, with around 900 students, is about 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis. White said the college was mourning Smith's death.

"Johnny was a tremendous young man," White said. "He was part of a brotherhood of Wabash men, and we grieve for him, his family and his brothers at this difficult time."

Smith came to Wabash from Desert View High School, on Tucson's South Side, where he was involved in marching band and was a member of the football and lacrosse teams, Wabash officials said.

He was also a member of the jazz band.

Smith was recalled on Monday as an extremely bright student who excelled in math and was planning on a future in engineering, said Stacy Haines, his senior Advanced Placement English teacher at Desert View.

"He was a witty kid — fun to be with and fun to be around," Haines said. "Teachers can't say that too often about their students."

Smith took many honors and Advanced Placement courses while at Desert View, and he was able to earn academic scholarships, Haines said.

Smith was one of six Desert View football players who signed a national letter of intent to play college football last February.

Those six football signees were the most from any one school in Southern Arizona to sign in the last school year.

"To be the high school with the most football players signing this year, that's a real sense of pride for us," Smith told the Arizona Daily Star at the time.

Smith was an offensive and defensive lineman, according to Star archives.

"He was an amazing young man. . . . We are devastated by his loss," Desert View football coach Jim Monaco said.

Smith was excited about going to college, said Haines, who corresponded with him through the Facebook Web site over the summer.

Upon arriving at Wabash, Smith attended a few practices, but he realized that it was consuming too much time and he preferred to focus on academics, Haines said.

Smith's name was not listed on the Wabash football team's online roster on Monday.

Counselors have been meeting with students and staff members at Desert View, according to a letter from Principal Dawn Maddock-Pea. Counselors will be available throughout the week.

Funeral arrangements are pending.